Manji: With granny

Aug. 20: Till mid-September, Japanese baby Manji will continue to stay with her grandmother.

The Supreme Court today questioned an NGO’s move to seek custody of the 25-day-old, born to a surrogate Indian mother and a Japanese father, asking it what its “locus standi” in the matter was.

“What is your right in respect of the child? As an NGO, how can you ask for its custody? You first file details of your registration, activities and sources of funding,” the court told the counsel for Satya.

Extending the infant’s temporary custody granted to Emiko Yamada by three weeks, the bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and Mukundakam Sharma said it would examine the larger issue of surrogacy rights and law in the country.

“We request the solicitor-general to assist us as some of the issues are of vital importance,” the bench said, fixing the next hearing on September 15.

NGO counsel Abhinav Sharma insisted that the organisation had the right and duty to protect the child, claiming the so-called surrogacy agreement was a “fictitious” name for child trafficking.

When the court asked if there was “any prohibition” on producing a surrogate child, Sharma flung a counter question.

“If there is no punishment under (IPC Section) 376 for rape, can it be said that rape is valid in the country?” he asked.

The bench said it was posing questions to the counsel and he was bound to answer them. In the arguments that followed, Justice Pasayat warned the counsel not to raise his voice.

“Please don’t raise your voice. We are not accustomed to hear such things in this court.”

Later, the bench granted the NGO two weeks to file its reply.

Mehak Sethi, counsel for Emiko Yamada, said an application for the baby’s travel documents had already been submitted to the Japanese embassy.

“The Japanese embassy is co-operating with us and we expect to get the documents soon,” he said.